Khoo betters own Ironman mark, looks to SEA Games

Battling the choppy waves and cold wind, Singapore triathlete Benjamin Khoo struggled at the start of the Ironman race in Hamburg, Germany, on June 1.

- Melvyn Teoh

But the 34-year-old pushed through the swim leg in the Alster Lake, made up ground on the bicycle before completing the marathon to clock 8hr 49min 46sec. In the process, he smashed his own Singapore record of 9:02:24, set at the Ironman Copenhagen race in August 2023.

The Ironman race comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and 42km run.

Khoo, a business executive in the chemicals sector, said: "There was a thunderstorm, so the race was delayed, and we were afraid that that might affect the conditions.

I didn't have a very good swim and the swim was longer than expected – 4km instead of 3.8km – but I was quite happy to make time on the bike.

So I went much, much faster than I expected. And then I got off the bike, I was like, 'okay, more or less there already'.

I just need to finish a marathon conservatively, and I will be able to break the record with quite a comfortable buffer."